Mxit closure 'unsurprising' - Key stats of the fallen hero

How quickly the mighty can fall, launched in 2005, social media player Mxit today announced it will be closing its doors. Having peaked at 42 million global users in 2011, the company registered only 1.2 million active users in South Africa. Mxit’s David Luis said users are no longer mere content viewers – they are content producers. The technology space is extremely competitive and in the piece below technology expert Arthur Goldstuck says local applications need to beware of the global competition. It’s a sad day on the entrepreneurial front. The article looks at some interesting facts about Mxit. – Stuart Lowman

by Duncan Alfreds

Cape Town – As Mxit shuts its doors, here are key statistics about the once giant South African social network.

Mxit announced on Friday that it is shutting down commercial operations and being taken over The Reach Trust. The Mxit app will still be available as a download but the technology will be used by The Reach Trust in social and education projects in Southern Africa.

Launch

Mxit was launched in 2005 by Namibian born Herman Heunis.

Peak

Mxit peaked at 42 million users across the globe in 2011, according to Herman Heunis. But it recorded 2.7 million monthly active users in South Africa at the end of 2014. The company announced in a statement on Friday that it had plunged to just 1.2 million monthly active users in July 2015 in South Africa.

Three chief executives

Herman Heunis built Mxit into the once dominant social media player in South Africa. Alan Knott-Craig Jnr bought the company and expanded its mobile e-commerce platform and launched a free Wi-Fi programme. He was replaced by Francois Swart who drove international expansion and development for smartphone platforms.

User base is 65% black.

Males make up 59% of its user base. 60% of users are between 18 and 25.

Mxit is no more it basically made us SOLDIER DOWN I REPEAT SOLDIER DOWN RIP TO A FALLEN HERO ✊🏻

— Ye Bryan AwuMnike (@Rapulaaa) October 23, 2015

Analysts react

David Luis, former head of Internal Communications at Mxit, told Fin24 that it would be difficult for a South African startup to build a compelling application, but content would likely be a key driver.

“The next winner in the local market is going to be an app that delivers shareable entertaining content, that allows users to create and share that content themselves. Users are no longer mere content viewers – they are content producers, and the success of apps like Vine, Instagram and DubSmash bear this out,” said Luis.

Arthur Goldstuck, head of World Wide Worx, also said that local startups need to be aware of international competition.

RIP Mxit.

— Kobus Ehlers (@kobusehlers) October 23, 2015

“We do have the potential to compete but we also have to keep the eyes wide open, and when we do succeed we’ve got to avoid arrogance and complacency,” Goldstuck told Fin24.

Fin24

Source: http://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/Mxit-numbers-you-may-not-know-20151023

Mxit’s commercial closure ‘unsurprising’

by Gareth van Zyl

Johannesburg – Local technology expert Arthur Goldstuck says he’s not surprised at Mxit’s commercial closure.

On Friday, Mxit announced that it is shutting down its commercial operations and donating all of its intellectual property and technology assets to independent public benefit organisation ‘The Reach Trust’.

The move comes amid Mxit’s falling user numbers in South Africa.

Mxit reported in 2013 that its monthly active user base was over six million in SA that year. However, this figure has dropped to just 1.2 million monthly active users in July 2015, according to a statement from Mxit on Friday.

Goldstuck, who is the managing director of technology research firm World Wide Worx, said he anticipated Mxit’s move to exit its commercial operations in a recent study on South Africa’s social media landscape.

“So, from our perspective it’s no surprise,” Goldstuck told Fin24.

“My question was: Is this the last throw of the Mxit dice and in effect that was what we have just seen,” Goldstuck said.

Mxit reported that it had 2.7 million monthly active users in South Africa at the end of 2014, meaning that the fall to just 1.2 million monthly users in July 2015 is dramatic, said Goldstuck.

“So, to drop in six months by more than a million – then the writing’s on the wall,” Goldstuck added.

Mxit, nevertheless, had high engagement on its service when compared to other networks, Goldstuck said.

But the social media landscaped has changed since Mxit first launched in 2005 as a feature phone app. Facebook today commands 13 million users in SA while WhatsApp has over 10 million users, according to recent research from World Wide Worx and Fuseware.

“What’s very clear is that the emphasis of social networking is now on global networks that allow people the maximum possible network of people,” said Goldstuck.

“It’s not about the number of people that they can reach as such but the fact that a large network spanning the globe gives them a greater guarantee that they’ll be able to network with almost everyone in their circle.

“You can now find anyone you want to on Facebook,” Goldstuck added.

Fin24

Source: http://www.fin24.com/Tech/News/Mxits-commercial-closure-unsurprising-20151023

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